Gardners Tips for Long Winter Nights

What are we outdoor lovers supposed to do when it gets dark early? How do we get our garden fix?

Read more? Definitely. Watch a garden movie? No, they upset me when the plants are flowering in the wrong season or place. Organize seeds, or tag the endless photos? That’s almost as boring and lonely as taxes.

Jenks, Tom and Betsy with the Jelly Palm she didn’t really want but now loves.

My friend Betsy has it figured out. She doesn’t garden under spotlights or stumble around in the gloaming; she gardens year-round. “But,” I asked her, “What do you do on these long nights.” Betsy has no shortage of ideas.

“After work, I plan to indulge in ‘To the Country.’ It’s a silly show about British city folks looking to find a place in the country. It’s armchair tourism to bucolic towns in the English countryside. Of course, with every house the people look at, they stroll through the garden.”

Betsy is also in at least four plant-focused garden groups, including Orchid, Camellia, and Ikeban Society. “I don’t just go to listen; I always volunteer for some project. That’s where you make personal connections and are active. Making friends through activities is the key to making connections through groups. I help set up for workshops and displays.”

Another way she stays connected is by managing Facebook pages for plant groups and emailing or texting reminders. “When people come to a plant exhibit, I always ask how they found out about it. Social media is big, but a personal email or text? That what really gets people out.”

She points to a book, “I’d have never found out about that old book ‘Old Herbaceous; A Novel of the Garden’ if a friend in a club hadn’t passed it on to me. There are so many great old books that don’t get press anymore but are great reads. I like a book that’s a read, not just an encyclopedia of plants.”

She stays away from catalogs and magazines. “When I moved, I didn’t sign up for or buy anything from a catalog because I hate the pile-up of papers.”

Betsy invited us in for a bowl of curried veggies. Her dining room faces east, so light streams in. A cat in a box soaks up the sun under a shelf full of house plants. I told her it reminded me of the meme I’d just seen, “Pets are my children, and plants are my pets.’ She loved that. “Most of my plants are pass-along. And I pass along plants too. I’m tired of that philodendron, so this week, I’ll take it to the Orchid Society, and someone will fall in love and take it home.”

Bulb Bonanza

This past Saturday, Betsy spent 3 hours at the bulb class at Historic Columbia. She came to listen to my friend Jim Martin and me. “That was the perfect class. There was a little bit of everything; plants, culture, plant sale, and book signing. And I had time after that to plant all the bulbs I bought.”

As a presenter, I loved this event too. The speakers interacted with each other, interrupted each other, and offered opposing points of view. The short time frame meant we all had Saturday to do other stuff. And just outside the classroom, endless beautiful gardens. I overheard a few guests who didn’t know downtown Columbia has these free, open-to-stroll-through gardens.

Plant People — Essays Every Thursday and Sunday

I asked Betsy about reading this blog, my Plantpeople blog. “I loved your Halloween story about burying the guy in the garden - hilarious. But I don’t know how to find your other stories.”

That's easy. Check out substack on their app - just download it. Or on the web. Yes, you have to set up a little account on substack.com. It’s free. Don't worry; they won't send you extra emails. Then, you can scan my years of stories and explore other gardeners who write.

Plant People is going to change a bit. I publish a story every Thursday and Sunday. Soon I have to set up the subscription part of it, which means Sunday will be for subscribers. But other posts will remain free for everyone. If you can’t subscribe, there are tons of stories already there, waiting. It’s like a book in itself, and substack is sort of like a magazine, except you get to pick your topics and authors.

Garden Disruptors Update

The new book, ‘Garden Disruptors,’ is getting great reviews - at least, I only see those. A few strangers from across the country have sent heartfelt messages. And South Carolina historian Harland Green recently sent a flattering email. If you can review it on Amazon, that helps me a lot. Just give it some stars; you don't have to write anything.

On Saturday, November 18, join Tom and me at the Book Tavern in Augusta for an informal chat and book signing.